I sell in mostly collectibles and I offer 30 day and free returns. On collectibles, no one has tried to return anything. On jewelry, they do. I had one girl who bought a Rhodonite pendant from me at Valentine's Day. I had a big sale on jewelry as I needed to move some before eBay would up my limits. So I put a ton on sale, most of it barely covering shipping.
She bought the pendant for $2.49 and free shipping. In other words, I paid her to take it. She left glowing feedback. 2 months later (I used to offer the 60 day returns, no more!), I get a message come in at 1:00 AM, all it says was, "I didn't know it was so small."
Had no clue who this was until I dug through my sold items. Almost 60 days to the minute, she wrote me. Yep, she was on the 'rent this item until the guarantee is up and return it" plan.
I always have all measurements in my ads so I asked her if she read that it was 1" x 1". She said NO. I told her there was nothing I could do (why would I want too?), she said she hated it and was giving it away. Good for her, it was a lovely pendant.
I have sold a lot of kids Disney and Barbie clothes, mostly for toddlers. None of those items have ever been returned. Part of me is expecting it at some point, but so far, nothing. It's bad with jewelry buyers though. They are on the rent and return plan. I am getting out of jewelry.
After thinking it over, a lot, I decided to stick with my 30 day free returns because the percentage of people who try this with me is low. I believe it is better to be trusted by the buyers than put up barriers that suggest you do not want their business. Plenty of them will move to the next listing that does offer returns and 30 days. I play the odds, and so far it is working fine.
We are in a huge, competitive market that is only getting harder to stay afloat in. I don't think we should let buyers and eBay scare us into a defensive position. Most people I sell to have been fine. I don't want to penalize those people for the few who are thieves. The thieves and con artists are everywhere, not just online. Brick and Mortar stores would go under if they refused returns and had poor guarantees. eBay covers the buyers anyway, so why not offer up what helps a sale?
I keep all negative things off my ads, and try to be very welcoming. I don't sell something that I worry someone will give me issues over. If I wouldn't buy it, I don't sell it. If it is something highly collectible but in not the best shape, I photograph and describe every issue. It may loose me a sale, but that's what it should do. Better to loose a sale upfront than deal with afterwards.
It must be a nightmare in clothing. If they are anything like the jewelry buyers, my heart goes out to you. I would still offer free returns though, I think you lose more sales from good buyers when they see you do not back up what you sell. If you buy something, don't you want to know it is guaranteed to work and be as described and you can return it if it is not correct?
I sure do, although I am not someone who returns things unless they are seriously messed up.
One thought. Women shoppers are the hardest customers to deal with. Costco actually changed what kind of clothes it sells in it's huge warehouse stores. Used to be heavy women's clothing, they have scaled it back and have more men's clothing. The reason? The were sick of women returning things. Men do not do it nearly as much. I am concentrating on items men buy, much easier. Most of my scammers have been women too. It used to be that online shopping was mostly women, that is no longer true. Men are shopping in greater numbers than ever before, especially with all the shows that promote collecting and reselling. You know the shows.
